Collegiate Chorale's Spring 2015 Benefit Raises More Than $300,000

The Collegiate Chorale raised more than $300,000 at its annual Spring Benefit featuring the U.S. premiere of Kurt Weill and Franz Werfel's The Road of Promise at Carnegie Hall on May 7, 2015. Proceeds will go toward The Chorale's artistic and education initiatives.

The Chorale's Spring Benefit honored the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The event was led by Co-Chairs Susan Baker and Michael Lynch, Jewelle and Nathaniel Bickford, Antonia and George Grumbach, Judith and Morton Sloan, Deborah F. Stiles, Adèle and John Talty, Barbara Hope Zuckerberg, and Corporate Co-Chair Aon.

Attendees included: Ted Sperling

Gala Co-Chairs: Susan Baker and Michael Lynch, Jewelle and Nathaniel Bickford, Antonia and George Grumbach, Judith and Morton Sloan, Deborah F. Stiles, Adèle and John Talty, Barbara Hope Zuckerberg, and Corporate Co-Chair Aon.

Honoree: Simon Wiesenthal Center

Board of Directors: Susan L. Baker (Co-Chair), George J. Grumbach, Jr. (Co-Chair), Susan Shine (Vice Chair), Sandra Joys (Secretary),Lois Conway (Treasurer), Page Ashley, Rima Ayas, Jewelle Bickford, Juliana Chen, Kenneth Hannan, Jr., Sandra S. Joys, Jill Malila, Ellen F. Marcus, James S. Marcus, Ellen Nenner, Elaine Petschek, Lisa Rubin, Petra Slater, Deborah Stiles, Adèle Talty, Elizabeth Tunick.

Jody Adams, Allen Adler and Frances Beatty, Mona Adler, Lorraine Anastasio, Page Ashley, Rima Ayas, Susan Baker and Michael Lynch, Gini and Randy Barbato, Edward Barnes and Raul Garcia, Kit Smyth Basquin, Norman Benzaquen, Jewelle and Nathaniel Bickford, Andre Bishop, Simon and Rochelle Blitz, Mary Ellen Brademas, Linda Brovsky, Susan and David Brownwood, Chloe Caan, Marissa Caan, Martin Caan, Sue Caplan, Cristina Carlson, Anders Cato, Juliana Chen, Jeffrey Cohen, Jennifer Collins, Lois Conway, Marina Couloucoundis, Jamie Cowperthwait, Donald Crawshaw and Matthew Hoffman, Robert and Jamie Davis, Elisabeth De Picciotto, Liam Doherty, Susan Dramm, Jamie and Begonia El Koury, Judy and Anthony Evnin, Scott Eyerly, Cathy Friedman and Thomas Feyer, William and Lucy Friedman, Trevor Godwin, Wendy Goldstein, Steve and Ann Gorewitz, Pattie Gould, Eric Groft, George J. and Antonia Grumbach, Jr., Reuben Gutoff and Ellen Robinson, Kenneth and Yvonne Hannan, Marcela Heger, Susan Hirschhorn, Beth Holland, Esther Horwitz, Sandra and David Joys, Liz and Avi Kaner, Katy and Andy Kaplan, Priscilla Kauff, Enid Kay, Mary and Howard Kelberg, Stephen Kohn, Sarah Kramer, Ilene Leff, Sahra Lese, Miriam Levy, Peter Lewis, Helen Little, Frank Liu and Anders Cato, Ralph and Patricia Loewenberg, Cara Lown, Emily Madison, Eliza Madison and Christopher McLaughlin, Lawrence Madison, Jill Malila, Jim and Ellen Marcus, Jeff and Wendy Maurer, Cornelia McDougald, Ken Moore, Denise Murrell, Ricki Nenner, Marta and Fernando Nottebohm, Steve Novick and Evan Galen, Esra Ozer, Bruce Patrick, Louis and Barbara Perlmutter, Christine Petschek, Elaine Petschek, Jay and Marybeth Petschek, Carol Petschek and Martin Caan, Nancy Petschek-Kohn and Stephen Kohn, Jill Petschek, Leslie and Andy Rahl, Susan Rose, Steve Rosen, Paul Rubenstein, Peter Rubin, Lisa Rubin and Carl Mankowitz, Beth Sackler and Jeff Cohen, Emilia Saint-Amand Krimendahl, Christie Salomon and Richard Lombard, Henry Saltzman, Bruce Saylor, Gary Schall, Juliana Schilsky, Dipak Shah, Susan Shine, Alan and Gloria Siegel, Claude Singer and Constance Bosworth Singer, Samuel and Petra Slater, Judy and Morton Sloan, David and Silvia Sloan, William and Rita Sloan, Joe and Janet Smyth, Robert Solomon, Daisy Soros, Ted Sperling and Noah Waxman, Margaret Stanback, Deborah Stiles, Laurie and Paul Sturz, Peg Sullivan, Adèle and John Talty, Elizabeth Tunick, Lillian Vernon and Paolo Martino, Marei Von Saher, Svetlana and Herbert Wachtell, Tom and Valerie Wandler, Patricia and Larry Weinbach, Katherine and Sam Weinhoff, Myles and Tinny Weintraub, Joanne Weist, Ruth Westheimer, Judy Zankel, Barbara Hope Zuckerberg, Dina Zuckerberg, Lloyd Zuckerberg

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is a global human rights organization researching the Holocaust and hate in a historic and contemporary context. The Center confronts anti-Semitism, hate and terrorism, promotes human rights and dignity, stands with Israel, defends the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations. With a constituency of over 400,000 households in the United States, it is accredited as an NGO at international organizations including the United Nations, UNESCO, OSCE, Organization of American States (OAS), the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO) and the Council of Europe.

The Road of Promise is a new concert adaptation of Kurt Weill and Franz Werfel's epic 1937 stage spectacle, The Eternal Road, led by Tony Award-winning conductor/director Ted Sperling and featuring a cast of world-renowned singers and a 200-voice chorus and symphony orchestra. Like the original stage work, The Road of Promise combines a story about a synagogue under threat of persecution with defining stories from the Old Testament. As the congregation awaits their fate, a 13-year old boy appears who knows nothing of his Jewish heritage or faith. The Rabbi enlightens him and gives the community strength by recounting the stories of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Miriam, Moses, Ruth, Isaiah, and more, all of which come alive through Weill's magnificent musical score. The young boy listens to the stories unfold and emerges as the new hope for his people.

The concert featured Ron Rifkin, Anthony Dean Griffey, Mark Delavan, Philip Cutlip, AJ Glueckert, Lauren Michelle, Megan Marino, Justin Hopkins, and Eli Tokash, with Conductor/Director Ted Sperling and Orchestra of St. Luke's. Video Projections by Wendall Harrington and Lighting Design by Frances Aronson.

The Road of Promise performances were funded in part by The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, Inc. and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Road of Promise performances have also received endorsement from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, The Collegiate Chorale's 2015 Spring Benefit Honoree.

The mission of The Collegiate Chorale is to enrich its audiences through innovative programming and exceptional performances of a broad range of vocal music featuring a premier choral ensemble. Founded in 1941 by the legendary conductor Robert Shaw, The Chorale has established a preeminent reputation for its interpretations of the traditional choral repertoire, vocal works by American composers, and rarely heard operas-in-concert, as well as for commissions and premieres of new works by today's most exciting creative artists. The many guest artists with whom The Chorale has performed in recent years include: Stephanie Blythe, Victoria Clark, Nathan Gunn, Thomas Hampson, Angela Meade, Kelli O'Hara, Eric Owens, Rene Papé, Bryn Terfel and Deborah Voigt. Last season's highlights included Eric Owens, Arturo Chacón-Cruz, and Julianna Di Giacomoin Arrigo Boito's Mefistofele with the Manhattan Girls Chorus at Carnegie Hall, and the New York premiere of David Lang's battle hymns with members of the Veteran Artist Program and the Manhattan Girls Chorus at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

For more information about The Collegiate Chorale, visit www.collegiatechorale.org.

Photo by Erin Baiano

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